23 Sep 2016

Last Saturday, Daniel Sturridge shot straight down the tunnel after being subbed off against Chelsea, and after the game, I argued that he was probably injured. As usual, I was shouted down by in-denial fans who refuse to critically evaluate anything that comes out of Jurgen Klopp's mouth, but it now transpires that Sturridge did actually get injured.

When asked after the Chelsea game about £30m-rated Sturridge's condition, Klopp told reporters:

“Daniel couldn't sprint any more, and we had a healthy striker on the bench. It's not an injury, it's just a situation. Nobody told me about an injury.”

“Daniel had a few issues after the [Chelsea] game, and then went 3 days without training. It depends on training [whether he's fit for Hull]. We'll see".

If a player has 'a few issues' after a game, and is consequently unable to train for 'three days', then the reason for this is obvious: he is injured. It may be a minor injury, but it's injury all the same.

Sturridge's inability to remain consistently fit is frustrating, but things have definitely improved over the last 6-8 months, and missing training sessions with minor niggles is infinitely preferable to missing weeks and months of the season with long-term injuries.

Klopp is doing a good job managing Sturridge's fitness, and if he continues to utilise him only once a week, there's a strong chance that Sturridge's period of sustained fitness will continue.